This Week In Badger Athletics: Nov. 4-10Both basketball teams open up regular season play while volleyball returns home

Nov. 4, 2013

WOMEN'S BASKETBALLThis Week: The Badgers continue their exhibition season on Thursday when UW-Stevens Point comes to town for a 7 p.m. tip. Wisconsin opens the regular season on Sunday, hosting Drake at 2 p.m. in the Kohl Center.

Last Week: UW played its first exhibition on Sunday, dominating Division II Winona State, 80-49, in the Kohl Center. Junior transfer Michala Johnson led all players with 24 points and shared game-high honors with eight rebounds.

Need to Know: Wisconsin returns the most points in the Big Ten with 88.9 percent, or 1,599 points back. The Badgers also return 89.9 percent of their rebounds, or 949 boards.

Good to Know: Fans can watch all of the action on the live stream available at InsideBadgerSports.com or listen on WIBA 1310 AM. UWBadgers.com will host its Gameday Live blog and provide updates on Twitter (@BadgerWBB).

MEN'S BASKETBALLThis Week: The reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year, Bo Ryan officially begins his 13th season at the helm of the Badgers when No. 20 UW travels to Sioux Falls, S.D., to take on St. John's at the Samford Pentagon in the season opener on Friday at 6 p.m. The game will serve as the first-ever Div. I college basketball game played in the Pentagon, which opened this fall.

Last Week:Ben Brust scored a game-high 20 points as Wisconsin cruised past UW-Platteville in its only exhibition contest of the year, 81-50, last Wednesday. Sam Dekker added 13 points as the Badgers outscored UW-P, 40-18, in the paint.

Need to Know: No. 20 Wisconsin begins the year in the AP preseason Top-25 for the seventh time in the last 11 seasons. The Badgers are 3-0 against St. John's all-time, including an 80-70 win in the 2002 NCAA Tournament, Ryan's first year at UW.

Good to Know: The Big Ten Network will broadcast Friday's game with Eric Collins and Stephen Bardo on the call. The game also airs live statewide on the Badger Sports Network, with Matt Lepay and Andy North calling the action. Fans can listen to the broadcast at BadgerSportsNetwork.com or via the iHeartRadio mobile app. In addition, UWBadgers.com will feature its Gameday Live blog from courtside at the Samford Pentagon.

FOOTBALL (6-2, 4-1)This Week: The No. 21-ranked Badgers return to Camp Randall Stadium for their first home game in 28 days on Saturday, when BYU comes to Madison for the first time since 1980. The Badgers and Cougars (6-2) kick off at 2:30 p.m., live on ESPN.

Last Week: The Badgers retained the Heartland Trophy and pulled ahead of Iowa in the teams' all-time series (43-42-2) with a 28-9 win over the Hawkeyes in Iowa City. RB James White led the way with 132 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns, while the UW defense held its fourth opponent of the season without a touchdown.

Need to Know: Wisconsin has won 28 consecutive home games against non-conference foes, dating back to Sept. 13, 2003. That is the second-longest active streak among FBS teams and trails only LSU (40), which hasn't lost a non-conference home game since Sept. 1, 2001.

Good to Know: ESPN will broadcast Saturday's game with Bob Wischusen, Rod Gilmore and Quint Kessnich on the call. The game also airs live statewide on the Badger Sports Network, with Matt Lepay, Mike Lucas and Patrick Herb calling the action. Fans can also listen to the broadcast at BadgerSportsNetwork.com or via the iHeartRadio mobile app. In addition, UWBadgers.com will feature its Gameday Live blog from the press box at Camp Randall.

MEN'S HOCKEY (3-2-1)This Week: No. 13/12 Badgers (3-2-1) takes its second weekend off in three weeks, before making the program's first-ever trip to Oxford, Ohio, for a series with Miami (5-2-1) on Nov. 15-16.

Last Week: The Badgers recovered from a 3-0 deficit just over four minutes into their series against No. 12/13 Lake Superior State on Friday and rallied for a 3-3 overtime tie. Wisconsin then carried over the momentum to Saturday when it handed the Lakers (4-1-1) their first loss of the season in an 8-1 rout.

Need to Know: Senior forward Tyler Barnes recorded UW's first multi-goal game of the season when he scored two goals in the final 10 minutes of Friday's game to get the Badgers their 3-3 overtime tie. Barnes' second goal came after UW pulled its goaltender for an extra skater.

WOMEN'S HOCKEY (6-2-0, 4-2-0)This Week: The No. 2 Badgers (8-2-0, 6-2-0) have their first bye week of the season this weekend before starting a six-game road swing on Nov. 15-16 at the Vail Tournament in Vail, Colo. Wisconsin will face Northeastern on Nov. 15 in a 8 p.m. (CT) contest before facing Boston University on Nov. 16 in a 6 p.m. tilt at Dobson Ice Arena.

Last Week: Wisconsin earned its fourth sweep of the year as the Badgers swept No. 10 Ohio State. After trailing 1-0 heading into the first intermission on Saturday, Wisconsin scored four unanswered goals to defeat Ohio State, 4-1. With the score tied 2-2 in Sunday's game, Brittany Ammerman scored the game-winner in the third and the Badgers held off a furious OSU attack at the end to hold onto a 3-2 triumph.

Need to Know:Brittany Ammerman is tied for fourth nationally in points per game, with an average of 1.70 per contest.

VOLLEYBALL (18-6, 7-6)This Week: The 15th-ranked Badgers (18-5, 7-5) kick off a four-match homestand, their final four home matches of the regular season, this weekend. Wisconsin hosts No. 11 Nebraska (17-4, 10-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. On Sunday, UW takes on Iowa (10-14, 1-11) at 1 p.m. Both matches are in the UW Field House.

Last Week: Wisconsin split in action on the road last weekend. The Badgers downed Indiana 3-1 on Friday before being edged at No. 16 Purdue 3-2 on Saturday. UW remains tied for fourth in the Big Ten standings at 7-5.

Need to Know: The Badgers lead the Big Ten in digs per set in all matches (15.44) and in Big Ten-only matches (15.62). Senior Annemarie Hickey leads the team, ranking fourth in Big Ten-only matches with 3.94 digs per set.

Good to Know: Live updates will be available via Twitter (@BadgerVBall ) and the matches can be heard on The Mic 92.1. UWBadgers.com will host its Gameday Live blog from the UW Field House.

WOMEN'S SOCCER(10-6-2, 5-5-1)This Week: Wisconsin embarks on its fifth-straight postseason appearance on Wednesday when it travels to the 2013 Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament in Champaign, Ill. The Badgers will battled third-seeded Penn State (13-5-1, 7-4-0) in the tournament's opening match at 10:30 a.m. CT.

Last Week: Wisconsin ended the season by shutting out Northwestern, 3-0, on Senior Day. Goals from McKenna Meuer, Cara Walls and Lindsey Holmes guided the Badgers to victory in their regular-season finale.

Need to Know: Since 2009, the Badgers have never finished lower than sixth in the regular-season Big Ten standings. Sixth-seed Wisconsin will battle defending Big Ten champs Penn State on neutral soil for just fourth time all-time on Wednesday.

Good to Know: Wednesday's Big Ten tournament quarterfinal match-up will be streamed live on the Big Ten Digital Network. Live stats and live updates via Twitter (@BadgerWSoccer) will be available through UWBadgers.com.

MEN'S SOCCER (12-3-2, 3-2-0)This Week: The No. 23 Badgers welcome Ohio State (5-6-5, 1-2-2) for their regular-season finale on Friday. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. with the Senior Day celebration set to take place following the match at the McClimon Complex.

WRESTLINGThis Week: Wisconsin opens the season on the road, traveling to Chattanooga on Friday for a 6 p.m. match and then staying on the East Coast for the Hokie Open on Sunday. Wisconsin will wrestle against North Carolina, Virginia and Old Dominion at the tournament. Start time is 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon, respectively.

Last Week: The Badgers hosted their annual Intrasquad Scrimmage. Ten matches, along with three exhibition bouts, were wrestled in the UW Field House. With the score tied, 16-16, heading into the final two matches, the Red team prevailed, posting a major decision and a decision to win 23-16.

Need to Know: A fan vote on the Badgers' Facebook page determined match order and it was a perfect choice. The final bout was at 149 lbs., between TJ Ruschell and Rylan Lubeck. It took two tie-breaks before Ruschell was able to claim a 2-1 decision.

Good to Know: UWBadgers.com will provide a complete wrap up from both events. Hokiesports.com will feature results from the Hokie Open as they become available. Fans can also follow along on the Badger's Twitter feed (@BadgerWrestling).

WOMEN'S TENNISThis Week: The Badgers wrap up their fall season with the Longhorn Invitational at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, on Friday. The tournament lasts through Sunday.

Last Week: Wisconsin has not played since competing in the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Oct. 10-13.

Need to Know: Sophomore Lauren Chypyha leads UW with a record of 8-4 this fall and advanced the furthest at the Midwest Regional.

Good to Know: A complete recap of the Longhorn Invitational will be available on UWBadgers.com. Fans can follow the team on Twitter (@BadgerWTennis).

MEN'S GOLFThis Week: The UW men's golf team wraps up its fall season at the 54-hole Wendy's Kiawah Classic played at Turtle Point Golf Club in Kiawah Island, S.C. Play started on Sunday and wraps up on Tuesday.

Last Time Out: UW sits in 13th place with a 17-over par 305 after round one. Senior Robert Jacobsen recorded the best score for Wisconsin, tallying an even-par 72 to tie for 12th. Senior Jack Watson is tied for 17th place after earning a 1-over par 73.